


A Timely Rescue

by ladyhoneydarlinglove



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Companion AU, Gen, Gift Fic, Lilith Lavellan, Niles Lavellan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7399462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyhoneydarlinglove/pseuds/ladyhoneydarlinglove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niles encounters some problems in the Hinterlands. Luckily, a fiery ball of elven fury swoops in to save the day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Timely Rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lavellanpls](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavellanpls/gifts).



It should not have been this hard to find a spot to set up camp.

They’d been trudging through the Hinterlands for hours, the search slowed by sporadic bursts of heavy rain and bitter winds so strong they’d knocked Sera off her feet twice. Niles was no stranger to bad weather conditions, or long treks across unforgiving land, or having to defend himself against the occasional hostile force—that came part and parcel with being Dalish. But even on the worst days of being a hunter, Niles could safely say he’d never been forced to face down more than one angry bear at the a time.

His little group had just killed three. For the second time that day.

“Bloody—friggin’—bears!” Sera yelled angrily as she repeatedly kicked a carcass, and Niles found himself very inclined to agree. “Why do they keep friggin’ coming after us? What, do we smell like honey?”

“Maybe it’s the bees,” Niles suggested.

“Piss off, the bees saved our arses!” Sera snapped, which was not entirely untrue. Certainly Niles would’ve had a much harder time getting an arrow through the bear’s head if it hadn’t been thoroughly distracted by the bee swarm.

“Alright, I’ll lay off the bees.” Niles sighed, grimacing as he pulled out their last potion. They were all worse for wear, haggard and bloody and utterly exhausted by the seemingly endless barrage of attacks, from wolves to templars to apostates, and everything in between. Cassandra scowled at a deep gash on her upper thigh, Solas winced as he gingerly wrapped up an arm, and Sera sported a magnificent black eye. “Who wants this?” Niles asked, holding up the potion.

“You should take it,” Cassandra answered immediately. “You are leading us, and I will not see you fall in battle on my watch.”

Niles shook his head. “I’m better off than any of you,” he said, though he didn’t know how much better only two cracked ribs and a wolf bite that wouldn’t stop bleeding counted. “You should have it, Cassandra, that leg wound looks awful.”

Cassandra frowned. “I cannot—”

“You are our first line of defense, Seeker,” Solas said, limping over. “If you fall, there may not be hope for the rest of us. Take the potion.”

Her brow furrowed deeply. “I’m not sure—”

“Incoming baddies!” Sera screamed, and Solas only just managed to summon a barrier in time to keep them from being incinerated by a fireball. Even so, the spell collided with such force that it knocked Niles back, the potion flying from his hand and shattering on the rocky ground. He let out a ragged scream of frustration, already notching an arrow and slinking into the shadow of a nearby tree for better cover.

Men emerged from the smoke of the spell, and Niles felt his heart sink at the sight of the demonic styled hoods of the Venatori. It wouldn’t have been an easy fight under normal circumstances, but battered as they were, Niles wondered if they would survive the assault. Cassandra held her own against a giant of a main wielding a massive maul, Solas froze a few men trying to attack Sera, and she in turn shot two Venatori advancing on Solas. But more men spilled over the crest of nearby hill where Niles had hoped to finally set up the bloody camp, and only three arrows remained in his quiver.

“Mythal save us,” he prayed, striking a Venatori straight through the eye. They screamed as they fell, but two more swarmed over the hill, and even as Niles struck them down as well, more came. He could hear Cassandra and Solas yelling, calling on him to run, even as he shouted that he couldn’t, he wouldn’t leave them to die—

Another sound joined in the cacophony, a bellowing war cry that reverberated everywhere at once, causing at least half of the Venatori to pause in their assault and look back to the hill where it came from, clearly confused. In the split second they turned to look, a warrior came barreling down the hill, straight into the heart of the enemy, swinging a massive axe. Niles watched in fascination and horror as the blade cleaved through two torsos in one blow, several limbs on the next, a head on the third, and then he lost track. The warrior moved too quickly for his exhausted mind to keep up.

“Over here!” he yelled to his companions. They hobbled over, Cassandra supporting a near unconscious Sera, Solas barely held up by his staff.

“Who… is that?” Cassandra gasped as she lay Sera against the base of tree.

“A bloody friggin’ miracle, that’s what,” Sera muttered. No one could argue; they could only watch as the miracle cleaved their way through every last one of the Venatori, until nothing remained but a pile of carcasses, and little stream of blood that rolled its way neatly down a crevice in the hill.

Their work done, the warrior began to survey their surroundings, and their attention landed on Niles and his companions, still staring. The warrior picked up their massive axe, swinging it over their shoulder with ease and waltzed over to them, as though walking the peaceful streets of Val Royeaux and not traipsing through a veritable sea of carnage. They stopped only a few steps away, grinning broadly.

“Hi there!” the warrior beamed.

It was a testament to just how exhausted Niles was that it actually took him a moment to register the tiny ball of fiery elven fury in front of him, though in his defense her normally white shock of hair was absolutely soaked in blood. “Lilith?” he gaped.

Lilith blinked at him, tilting her head curiously. “How do you—oh shit, Niles?” Her eyes widened in shock. “What are you—oh fuck, is the clan here?” She looked around wildly. “Shit, fuck, I thought they were still near Wycome, holy hell if they’re—”

“They’re not here,” Niles interjected. “I—It’s just me. And, well.” He gestured to his battered companions at the base of the tree. “Them.”

“Oh. Friends of yours? Hello!” Lilith called, waving enthusiastically. They answered with blank stares of shock. “God, you guys look like shit. Good thing I found you when I did.” She looked back at Niles, reaching up to brush a bloody lock of hair from his eyes. “No offense Bean Pole, but caked in viscera isn’t exactly a good look for you.”

“No, I think you wear it much better,” Niles answered, and Lilith grinned.

“I do, don’t I?” She laughed. “Here, maybe this’ll help.” She unhooked two green bottles of shimmery liquid from her belt, and Niles nearly started crying in relief as he took the potions from her, taking a long, blissful draught from one before handing them to Solas to dole out. 

“Try not to get into anymore trouble too soon, okay?” Lilith said, then turned and began to walk away from the mess of bodies, humming a happy tune under her breath as she kicked a stray head out of her way. Niles watched her for a moment, struck by poetic appearance of her waltzing through the midst of the chaos, a noble warrior maiden anointed in the glistening blood of her enemies, raining down hellfire upon their hapless ranks.

“Lilith, wait,” he called. “Do you want a job?”

She paused. “A job?” she repeated, turning back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re a mercenary now, right?” Niles limped closer to her. “I’d like to hire you. I’m… sort of in charge of this… new project and I need people. Lots of people. And you are worth at least ten people. Probably more. I… would really, really like to hire you. Right now. Even if you can just get us back to civilization without having to fight another bear. Please.”

His coherency was shot, but Lilith didn’t seem to mind his babbling. She cast her gaze to the side, looking almost sheepish. “Really?” she asked, tone strangely light. “You want to hire the disgrace of Clan Lavellan to fight for you?”

“Don’t be stupid, I’m the Herald of Andraste, I’m the clan disgrace now,” he said unthinkingly. “And yes, I want to you to fight for me. I really, really do. If you want to, that is. I know… I know you like to do your own thing, most of the time, but… I could really use someone like you, Lilith. I’d be honored if you’d fight for me. With me. I… have no idea what I’m saying right now, I’m so sorry. I think my brain might actually be dead.”

Lilith laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “It’s fine. But yeah, sure. I’ll come. Killing these kinds of assholes seems like a great way to pass my time, and getting paid for it? Sign me up, my man.” 

Niles could've sworn her cheeks were turning red, though it may have only been the way the light reflected off her vallaslin.

**Author's Note:**

> If Lilith was actually a companion option, her recruitment would happen at a random point on one of the maps where your party faces an endless onslaught of enemies and three out of four of you have to die before she comes charging in to save the day.


End file.
